2/5th Fusiliers 1910

[Moonraker]

A bit early for the Great War, I know, but presumably the "2/5th Fusiliers" were still known as such in 1914. I have a postcard sent by the son of Mrs J W Nettleton of Thorner, near Leeds, in September 1910 when he took part in the very large-scale manoeuvres in Wiltshire and beyond. On September 19 he was somewhere on Salisbury Plain, having marched 70 miles in five days, possibly from the Wells area of Somerset. He mentions his unit is now preparing to "do battle with all the British Army".

Would the 2/5th be part of the Royal Fusiliers or a county unit? And I'm aware of second-line formations in the Great War but can't recall coming across the 2/5th form before 1914. Presumably it was a Territorial battalion?

Moonraker

[Tyneside Chinaman]

Hi

NOT Territorials it is the 2nd Regular Battalion of the 5th (Northumberland) Fusiliers.

The Regiment always hung on to its number and refered to itself as the Fifth Fusiliers.

regards

John

[Moonraker]

John

Thanks. That was quick! Wasn't it unusual for a unit to do this? Off-hand, I can't recall any other instances.

Moonraker

[Steven Broomfield]

More common than you think. The Ox & Bucks Light Infantry never (I believe) used the terms 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion, but always spoke of the 43rd and the 52nd (the two battalions' respective pre-1881 title). In latter years, certainly, the Cheshires used 22nd a lot; G Seton Hutchison always referred to the 2nd Argylls as the 92nd (or whatever their number had been).

Remember that 1914 was only 30 years after the Cardwell amalgamations; we think of it as a golden age, but not a few officers and men had joined before 1881 so had, as it were, 'grown up' with numbers.

[Graham Stewart]

Only Nettleton I can trace as e regular is 3065 Pte Arthur Nettleton, 2nd Bn, Northumberland Fusiliers, living Main Street, Thorner, Yorks at the time of his death in June 1915. However he was born and enlisted in Leeds, but not until April 1911, so wonder if he was a relative of the lad who sent the original postcard, possibly his brother???

[Moonraker]

Researching individual soldiers isn't my strong point but I did look up Nettleton and Fusiliers on the MIC index and found several had served with with the Northumberland Fusiliers. The card is signed "Jack".

Moonraker

[Graham Stewart]

I suspect you're looking for a John Nettleton, who is possibly his brother, but may have left the Army prior to the war. Very co-incidental that both 'Jack' and Arthur were from Thorner and pre-war regulars, but not unusual as the 2nd Bn, NF were based in Sheffield prior to moving to India.

[Graham Stewart]

It's possibly 2531 Pte John H. Nettleton, who would have enlisted into the NF in March 1909. He was eventually transferred to the York & Lancs(36651).

[janecavell]

Now I don't know much about military stuff, but I have my uses when it comes to genealogy:

1901 census (ref. RG 13/4058, folio 94)

at Mill Hill, Bramham Road, Thorner, in four rooms:

Jno Wm Nettleton, head, 44, mason's labourer, born Thorner and his wife Jane Elizabeth Nettleton (39) with sons Walter (14), John Hy [i.e. John Henry] (11), Arthur (7) and Charles Edward (4), plus married daughter Annie and her husband Benjamin Pickering and their baby son Wilfred.

All the Nettleton children are shown as having been born in Thorner.

On the previous census the family is still in Thorner, with baby John H. Nettleton aged just 1 month.

This seems to tie in with the army service papers mentioned above, which show John Henry Nettleton as 19 years and 1 month when he had his medical in April 1909 (though some of the later papers give a year of birth of 1890).

P.S. one sheet of his army service papers (Employment sheet for 1914) shows him as being in 'E' Company, 2nd Northumberland Fusiliers.

[Graham Stewart]

Poppy3 - BINGO, well done with that bit of research - so both John Henry and Arthur eventually served together in the 2nd Bn, NF.

I was going to put a load of kisses after the BINGO bit, but then I realised you could possibly be a bloke!!!!

[janecavell]

I was going to put a load of kisses after the BINGO bit, but then I realised you could possibly be a bloke!!!!

A load of kisses . . . that would have livened up my Friday night!

Poppy (not a bloke!)

[Stanley_C_Jenkins]

More common than you think. The Ox & Bucks Light Infantry never (I believe) used the terms 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion, but always spoke of the 43rd and the 52nd (the two battalions' respective pre-1881 title). In latter years, certainly, the Cheshires used 22nd a lot; G Seton Hutchison always referred to the 2nd Argylls as the 92nd (or whatever their number had been).

This is simply incorrect. In the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry the terms "1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion" were more or less interchangeable with the 43rd and 52nd Light Infantry.

[Moonraker]

Thanks for the info - rather more than I expected!

Moonraker